Last day to pledge! £84,000 raised so far for world’s first David Bowie statue

David Bowie at Friars, July 15, 1972

Published:11:07Monday 05 December 2016

The Aylesbury David Bowie Statue campaign is entering its final 24 hours, with £84,000 raised so far.

But if the £100,000 target is not reached fundraisers will not get any of the money and will have to start again.

David and Sue Stopps have led the Kickstarter fundraising drive and hope that they can ‘score a goal in the final moments’ to make the project a reality.

Nothing to do with the statue is funded by the taxpayer, and having the world’s first monument to Bowie is expected to generate £2million a year in tourism revenue.

David Bowie chose Aylesbury to debut his legendary Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust albums, and championed the town as a first-time touring spot for the likes of Blondie, Talking Heads, Ramones and Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers.

He also appeared on stage with friend Iggy Pop when he played at the Friars club in town.

The statue itself will feature Bowie as his Ziggy Stardust persona, but will also feature references to all of his other guises. It will be created by renowned sculptor Andrew Sinclair, who has worked on high end commissions for clients including The Queen.

A sound system close to the statue, which will be under the Market Square arches, will play Bowie music every hour, and fans from around the world will be able to view it 24 hours a day on a special webcam.